Friendship a potential perk to lunch with Buffett

By Lilla Zuill

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fans of billionaire Warren Buffett line up each year to bid top dollar for the chance to have lunch with the famed investor, but sometimes they get far more than a meal -- Buffett's friendship.

"I've held about 9 or 10 of these and I've become friends with a number of nice people since," Buffett said in an interview before sitting down to the annual lunch, which benefits charity, at Manhattan steakhouse Smith & Wollensky. "The lunches have always been fun -- and frequently I have had contact later on."

The lunches are usually dry affairs and have been known to go on for hours, said Buffett, sitting at the restaurant's upstairs bar, sipping on Coca-Cola's trademark drink. Buffett is a large investor in the company.

Buffett, chief executive of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway, was in New York on Wednesday to dine with Mohnish Pabrai, Harina Kapoor and Guy Spier -- and other guests. The trio last year bid a record $650,100 (329,100 pounds) for the honour.

"The lunch has gone as long as three hours -- I never cut it off, it is up to them," Buffett said. "They are paying a lot of money.

"I don't think there ever has been (alcohol), but there is no rule against it," he added.

The proceeds from the lunch with 77-year-old Buffett benefit the Glide Foundation, a nonprofit in San Francisco's Tenderloin district that offers programs for the poor, hungry and homeless.

While Buffett and his guests dined, others were lining up bids for next year's lunch. By Wednesday afternoon, the top bid was $77,100, but the auction, open to qualified bidders, is expected to fetch far more before it wraps up late Friday.